WATER / FUEL CELL
Dave fabricated the water cell (and fuel cell) box out of 0.090-inch aluminum. It has three holes in the bottom, but only two holes are seen in the early fabrication photo. The water cell has two large, round water-feed flanges on the bottom. After Dave finished welding the container, it was powdercoated black.
Mark has both bladders out for test fitting. The water cell is a simple container without a bunch of internal plumbing, unlike the completely plumbed fuel cell. The water cell has two 1.5-inch push-on hose barbs (shown with tape to keep debris out) in the top of the red-colored cell plate. The -6 AN fitting and hose are connected to a 20-pound pressure-relief valve.
Inside the water bladder, Dave build an 18x6x2-inch box that covers the water outlets in the bottom. That box is held in place by fuel-cell foam. In fact, there’s a lot of fuel-cell foam in the water bladder. It limits the potential for water splashing inside the tank. If Big Red were to get loose on the top end at Bonneville, water sloshing inside the tank could cause the car to go out of control and crash. The bottom of
the water bladder has two flanges built into it. The bottom of the fuel cell box has two holes cut for those flanges to enter. Mark fills the 55-gallon water tank to about 45 gallons. They don’t fill it to the top; that leaves room to add ice if they need cooler water, because there’s no radiator in Land Speed/Top Speed mode.
The cell was ordered plumbed with dual Aeromotive A1000 pumps, filters, and a collector/sump. The collector is fixed to the bottom of the tank and has trap doors that allow fuel into the box where it’s trapped. The fuel pickup is located in the collector box. The pickup is connected to a Y-fitting and plumbed to two pumps that are connected to the outlet in the fill plate on top of the tank. The in-tank pumps are completely wired to the junction box in the trunk, but ultimately are controlled by the Holley Dominator ECU.
Mark’s Magic Tip: When 100 percent of the gas and fumes are out of the gas bladder, use a shop vacuum on the bladder to make it decompress in order to get it out of the form-fitting tank.
